Champion Stakes bankers Economics and Calandagan brought down by 40-1 outsider - The Mirror

In a thrilling but rough climax to the £1.3 million Ascot showpiece, Anmaat fought his way past the French favourite to triumph under Jim Crowley

Two of the headline acts of Qipco British Champions Day had their reputations punctured by a 40-1 outsider on Saturday.

Royal Ascot winner Calandagan and the emerging star Economics, who was unbeaten in 2024, topped the bill in a head-to-head for the £1.3 million Qipco Champion Stakes on Britain’s richest raceday.

They went off first and second favourite yet neither would triumph as Anmaat, dismissed in the betting as a 40-1 outsider, thread a passage through a congested field and pull off a famous upset.

The Aga Khan-owned Calandagan, second behind City Of Troy previously, lost ground at the start but looked to have recovered in time to hit the front with a furlong to run. But Anmaat, ridden by Jim Crowley, barged his way through traffic to take up the pursuit and overhauled the French hope close to the line.

Economics, who had lowered the colours of Auguste Rodin when winning the Irish Champion Stakes, briefly loomed up to challenge but his run petered out and he finished back in sixth. He was later found to have bled from the nose.

Crowley had endured one of his most difficult days on the track in the same race two years ago when Baaeed, one of the best horses to run in the Shadwell colours, finished fourth as 1-4 favourite for the Champion Stakes.

He said: “Today he had a lovely position going round but unfortunately the horses I was tracking cut out turning in and we just had nowhere to go. In fairness to the horse, once he got that gap he went.

“When he was in the Eclipse last year I was convinced he would beat Paddington and he went wrong the day before.

“It’s been a little bit of a slow year. We haven’t had the firepower we have had in the past. I knew we had a live chance. I wasn’t sure when we were all tucked up with nowhere to go.”

Trainer Owen Burrows had targeted Anmaat at a second win in the Prix Dollar on Arc weekend but he was only fifth in the Group 2.

“I had to convince Sheikha Hissa to let him come today,” he said. “How he’s done it has surprised me. I put my binoculars down halfway in the straight, I thought he’d got no chance from where he got pushed back to.

“To pick up in ground like that, I thought it was a heck of a performance.”

Calandagan’s trainer Francis Graffard admitted he thought Calandagan and jockey Stephane Pasquier to overcome the worst of his problems to put the race in the bag.

“I was struggling entering the straight because I saw Stephane had no room and a lot of horses under him, but he quickened very strongly,” he said. “I thought the race was over when he took the lead and I didn’t see the other horse coming.”

William Haggas, trainer of Economics, said: “It was disappointing. Tom felt the ground was a bit soft for him but I said I wasn’t going to use the ground as an excuse so I’m not. There was a little blood in his nose so we will sort that out.”